


he spoke nine words (and i was sinkin')

by renjunethereal



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Cheesy, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, Romance, as usual, donghyuck's a good friend, jaemin's greasy but its ok, jeno baby boy agenda, jisung's there for two seconds, johnjae if you fill in the blanks, like extremely light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 23:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20496965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renjunethereal/pseuds/renjunethereal
Summary: "Welcome to BubbleTease. Large milk tea with tapioca, right?"Now available inVietnamese





	he spoke nine words (and i was sinkin')

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the song sex by Eden

Jeno firmly believes that if he stares at the clock long enough, time will go faster. His shift’s actually ending in ten minutes, but it feels like every second has been an hour. 

It was a busy day today—dinner service was a _ nightmare _, some customers deciding to be extra shitty to him even if he was working his ass off trying to accommodate them, and more than anything Jeno just wants to get some bubble tea, go home, and cuddle up into his blankets.

The big clock hand moves to eleven, and Jeno wants to cry with joy. He doesn’t care if he looks silly, practically leaping over the counter to punch his card in and running out with a clipped “bye everyone!”, jacket clutched in his hands.  


Jeno enters BubbleTease out of breath and a little frazzled, but undeniably happy. BubbleTease is actually a fairly new cafe that opened near his workplace, having only been open for a few weeks.

There’s somehow still a line at eleven pm, but he doesn’t mind, stepping into line obediently. It’ll all be worth it in the end.

When it’s his turn, Jeno is prepared to spew out his normal order, but someone beats him to it.

“Welcome to BubbleTease. Large milk tea with tapioca, right?” The cashier says, and—oh no, he _ smiles. _Flashes his almost unnaturally perfect white teeth at him, and Jeno suddenly wants to sink into the ground.

“You—you remember my bubble tea order?” Jeno asks, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. There’s a slight widening of eyes before the cashier replies, smile somehow even brighter.

“Of course! You come in here all the time.” He’s not even looking at the cash register as he types in his order, his gaze solely focused on Jeno and the flush of heat growing on his neck.

Jeno scrambles to fish out a ten dollar bill from his wallet, and he’s in the middle of taking the change when the cashier speaks again. “Besides,” he says, looking impish,“how could I forget such a cute face?”

And of course, Jeno, being Jeno, loosens his grip on the coins at the other’s words and sends them scattering across the floor.

“I’m sorry!” He exclaims, definitely blushing now, and ducks down to pick them all up. Thank god he’s the last one in line, or else he’d be too embarrassed to come here ever again.

When he looks up again, the cashier’s leaning against the counter on his elbow, looking amused. “Cute.”

As soon as his order is called up, Jeno takes it and practically sprints out of the store, and tries to tell himself he's flushed because of the exertion.  
  


Jeno has the morning shift today, and he uses the savoured moments before opening to whine to his coworkers. 

“And then he just said ‘cute’! Like a dick!” Jeno huffs. He’s gone from flattered, embarrassed, to mad in the span of eleven hours. How dare that guy take advantage of Jeno’s blatantly obvious praise kink to make a fool out of him!

“I think you’re taking this the wrong way. Like, _ extremely _ wrong.” Jisung says. He’s new to the staff, only having joined in July, but he’s undeniably a fast learner and Jeno appreciates his work ethic.

Jeno furrows his eyebrows, confused. “What else could it mean?” 

Donghyuck sighs from where he is next to him, pinching the bridge of his nose. Donghyuck has been here even longer than he has, being the one to land Jeno this job in the first place. He’s also (unfortunately) his best friend, the two inseparable since they were in diapers.

“It means you have an admirer, dumbass.” Jeno’s eyes widen.

“Oh no. No no no no no, I’m not doing that shit again.” It’s true. As much as Jeno loves staying up to watch k dramas just to see the two main leads kiss, he could never imagine himself in the same position. Years of pining over people who show the slightest bit of interest in him and never doing anything about it will do that to you. He’s accepted the fact that he will be forever alone, with only adorable cats to keep him company. It’s not that bad of a deal, honestly.

“You have someone totally your type interested in you, literally in your face, and you’re not going to do anything about it? I don’t see the logic here, Jen.” Donghyuck says. Jisung’s nodding in agreement.

“He is _ not _my type.” Jeno insists, but Donghyuck just looks smug now.

“Oh yeah? You’re the one who said he looked like he ‘popped out of a k drama’, which is to say, exactly your type.” Jeno opens his mouth, but then closes it. That’s a terribly good point.

“I—” Jeno starts, but the manager chooses this moment to interrupt them.

“Alright kids, we open in five minutes. Get ready.” Johnny orders, using his ‘manager voice’. He leaves, and Jeno’s about to get to his spot when Donghyuck stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, at the very least, that guy’s probably just being nice. Don’t worry about it too much, honey.” Jeno pouts, but nods. He can never say no to Hyuck when he breaks out the pet names. He’s probably right, anyways.

Jeno avoids BubbleTease like the plague. Or at least, he tries to. Being a broke college student with no car makes his range of bubble tea shops very limited. It’s only a matter of time until he caves in and has to go back. Like now, for example.

When Jeno steps inside, he makes sure to keep his hood on (a beloved birthday present from Donghyuck, black with matching cat ears sewn onto the hood) and his head down. He only dares to look up when it’s his turn at the cashier, and lo and behold—he’s there, smiling that stupidly blinding smile.

“Nice to see you again, kitty.” He sounds so damn smug and Jeno really wants to snark at him, except his heart’s already making decisions for him and—goddammit, he’s blushing again. Curse his love for pet names.

“Um, kitty?” Jeno asks, and Jaemin just points above his head. 

“The cat ears? Super cute, by the way, totally fits you.” Jeno shrinks in on himself, but he secretly appreciates the praise because _ yes _ , cat ears are _ awesome, _ thanks for noticing_. _

“One large milk tea with tapioca coming right up. Will you be paying in cash, card, or phone numbers?” _ What. _

“What?” The other boy breaks into laughter, and Jeno wants to ignore how much he likes the sound. Even if he does sound like a cartoon villain.

“Just kidding around. Mostly. Cash, right?” He has the fucking gall to _ wink _, and Jeno averts his gaze so fast he’s sure he got whiplash. He’s pretty sure he resembles a tomato from how much he’s been blushing for the past five minutes.

After he pays, Jeno speeds over to a corner and wills his face to calm down. _ Stupid cashier boy. _ Jeno grumbles in his mind. He’s pouting now, purely on impulse. _ Stupid, cocky cashier boy. He’s not even that cute!...that’s a lie, he is. _

“Large milk tea with tapioca?” A voice calls out, popping Jeno out of his angry little bubble. He scampers over to take his drink, and is surprised to see a sticky note stuck on the side.

_ My name’s Jaemin, by the way. Text me xxx-xxx-xxxx <3 _

He makes sure to make eye contact with ‘Jaemin’ when he drops the sticky note in the trash, eyes narrowed. Jaemin just smirks at him, tossing him another wink. Jeno, to his chagrin, blushes.

“Pleeeeaaaase, Hyuckie. I’ll give you the money, just go for me!” Jeno’s clinging onto Donghyuck’s side, looking at him with the biggest puppy eyes he can muster. 

It’s been a hard two weeks without bubble tea in his life, and Jeno was this close to ripping his hair out in frustration. The addiction is too strong. Luckily for him, it’s an off day for him and Donghyuck, which means it’s prime bubble tea getting time. 

“Tell me again why you can’t just, I don’t know, go yourself?” Donghyuck is refusing to look at him in fear of giving in. Jeno’s this close to pouting.

“Because he’s gonna be there, and then he’s gonna do his stupid charming asshole thing, and then I’ll embarrass myself! Again!” Jeno’s definitely pouting now. Donghyuck risks a peek, and almost, _ almost _cracks.

“You’re such a baby.” Donghyuck sighs. “How about I go _ with _you, do most of the talking, and then you never ask me for favours as stupid as this ever again?” Jeno seems to agree to the deal, nodding happily. Donghyuck looks up to the ceiling, as if to ask God why he paired him up with this whiny idiot.

When Donghyuck enters BubbleTease, he practically hears Jeno whimper behind him when he catches sight of Jaemin. He can’t help but agree—he does look good, with his tousled honey brown hair and shining smile. 

Clearly, this is the perfect opportunity to tease Jeno about it. “He’s not even looking at you, yet you’re blushing.” Jeno gasps, cupping his face in his hands, horrified to find it hot to the touch. Goddammit. 

“Just go order, I’ll be over here.” Jeno shoos Donghyuck away, sliding into an empty booth with a definitive _ ‘hmph!’ _He doesn’t see how Donghyuck smirks, clearly about to meddle.

“Welcome to—” Jaemin starts, but Donghyuck stops him with a hand.

“Save your breath, pretty boy. I’m Donghyuck, and my friend over there—his name’s Jeno by the way— the cutie in the hoodie?” Jaemin looks over, and can’t help but smile, fond. Jeno’s playing with his sweater paws, currently trying to make the two sleeves connect together. His eyebrows furrow in concentration, pouting when they nearly meet, but then slip away.

“He wants a large milk tea with tapioca, but I’m sure you knew that. He also thinks you’re really hot, by the way.” Donghyuck’s already sliding over a ten dollar bill, looking impressed with himself.

“Really?” Jaemin’s raising an eyebrow, delighted. “Well, tell him I think he’s really hot too.” Jeno’s done playing with his sleeves, moving onto badly pretending that he’s not spying on their whole exchange from afar, and Jaemin grins at him. Predictably, Jeno turns away.

Donghyuck’s eyes narrow, a mischievous smile on his face. I will.”

“What did he say?” Jeno asks before Donghyuck even sits down.

“You’re welcome.” Donghyuck says sarcastically, setting the bubble tea down on the table. Jeno practically pounces on it, taking a few lengthy sips before he settles down again.

“UghIwuvyou.” Jeno says through a handful of tapioca, looking blissful. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, but lets him be.

“Let’s hope your boy didn’t hear you say that.” He can’t help it, he’s just a tad amused when Jeno chokes on his balls (ha, get it), bursting into a coughing fit.

“He’s not my boy.” Jeno says after his lungs have stopped burning. He crosses his arms over his chest, defensive. Donghyuck rolls his eyes.

“Uhuh. Anyways, your boy—who knows your name now, you’re welcome—thinks you’re really cute. Like, just as cute as you think he is.” He watches, amused, as a pretty pink flush travels from Jeno’s neck to his hair. 

“He—he probably says that to everyone.” Jeno insists, and Donghyuck resists slamming his head into the table. There’s no winning with him.

Despite his doubt, Jeno sneaks another look at Jaemin. He’s talking to another customer, but blows Jeno a kiss the second they look down to dig their wallet out of their bag. Jeno squeaks, and when he turns to look back at Donghyuck, he finds the other looking unamused.

“You’re impossible, I swear.” 

The next time Jeno goes back to BubbleTease, he’s in the middle of exams and very in need of tapioca in his system. Since it’s exam season, he enters the shop practically dead on his feet, just there to get some damn bubble tea and get out.

Even Jaemin looks a little less put together than usual, dark eye circles peeking out through concealer. Still, even exams can’t stop Jaemin’s need to flirt.

“Hey there, pretty boy.” He greets when Jeno steps up to the cash register. Jeno feels a flash of heat go through him, but rolls his eyes. 

“I literally look like shit right now, don’t try to lie to me.” Jaemin chuckles at him, the sound smooth and deep and hitting a chord within Jeno.

“Exams suck, huh?” Jeno agrees with a solemn nod of his head.

“Still,” Jaemin starts, “even now you’re still so pretty.” Jeno hates how much that line affects him, how warm inside he feels.

“R-really?” He asks, voice soft. Surprisingly, there’s no playfulness on Jaemin’s face, looking serious as he leans over the counter, just slightly.

“Really. You’re always pretty, Jeno.” There’s a moment where the two just stare at each other, where it feels like there’s no one else in the world except them, where time stands still.

And then it’s broken.

“Hey, can you hurry it up? Some of us are on a time limit.” An annoyed voice calls out, snapping the two out of their reverie.

“S-sorry! Um, large—”

“Large milk tea with tapioca. I know.” Jaemin’s playful smile is back, and everything is back to normal.

Jeno’s taking advantage of the cafe’s free wifi to study when he hears the screeching of a chair across from him. When he looks over, Jaemin’s smiling back at him.

“Um...don’t you have bubble tea to make, or something?” He asks, but Jaemin just shrugs.

“I’m on break. Besides, I wanted to try talking to you for more than ten minutes, for once.” Jaemin leans over, just slightly, but Jeno’s heart pulsates irregularly at the shortened distance.

“I...I don’t think I’m that interesting.” Jeno insists, but Jaemin shakes his head.

“And I think I can make that judgement for myself. Please, just talk to me for a bit?” Jaemin has his hands clasped together now, and Jeno finds himself agreeing.

So, they talk.

Jeno’s surprised to find that their interests match pretty well. Jeno shyly starts the conversation by talking about cats, like he always does, and gasps in awe when Jaemin mentions he has a cat himself, Jeno immediately wanting to know everything. After that, it’s smooth sailing as Jeno finds out that Jaemin is also a total romantic, though he generally prefers watching American romcoms over k dramas. They, of course, proceed to launch into a very heated debate about the pros and cons of Western and Eastern romance in the media. It turns into a tie, because Jaemin’s a criminal justice major and just generally very persuasive, but Jeno is a stubborn, immovable object.

“So, I was thinking—” Jaemin starts, but never gets to finish.

“Jaemin! Your break ended _ twenty _minutes ago!” A classically handsome man steps out from behind the counter, looking unamused with his hands on his hips. Jaemin cringes, but stands up reluctantly.

“Sorry, Jaehyun. I’ll be right there.” He looks back at Jeno, the latter a little sad that Jaemin has to go. Huh, who would’ve thought.

Jaemin sighs. “Duty calls. See you later?” He tosses Jeno a grin, and Jeno finds himself tossing one back, nodding. Jaemin looks a little taken aback, like he just got the wind knocked out of him.

“What? Something wrong?” Jaemin shakes his head frantically.

“No, no, it’s just...that’s probably the first time you really smiled at me. It’s really pretty.” Jeno reddens, but before he can answer, Jaehyun calls for him again.

“I have to go. Bye, pretty boy.” Jeno waves Jaemin off, coming to a very apparent conclusion when he’s gone. He’s pining, and he’s pining hard.

It’s raining today, but that doesn’t stop Jeno from walking to BubbleTease, armed with only an umbrella and his hoodie.

Jaemin doesn’t seem to be here today. It’s relatively empty too. That’s to be expected, he’s the only one crazy enough to get bubble tea when it’s raining cats and dogs outside. The cashier has a shock of orange hair, and smiles at him kindly. He’s kinda adorable in a compact sort of way.

“Hi, can I get a—”

“Large milk tea with tapioca, I know.” The cashier says. Jeno’s eyebrows shoot up, before he huffs.

“What, you know my bubble tea order too?” This is getting kind of weird. Maybe he really does come here too often.

“Kind of hard not to. Jaemin hyung talks about you all the time. ‘Ugh, large milk tea and tapioca boy looked so good today.’” He says, in a strangely accurate impression. “He can’t shut up about you. It’s kind of funny.” 

Jeno’s mouth gapes like a fish. 

“He—he does?” The cashier nods, and Jeno suddenly feels a little lightheaded at the revelation. He walks out of Bubbletease frazzled, shocked, and a little out of it. Jaemin likes him, Jaemin isn’t just flirting with him just to be a flirt, Jaemin genuinely likes him back and Jeno isn’t just pining uselessly again like he thinks he is.

He plans his next visit to BubbleTease meticulously. He’s going to walk in there, find Jaemin, order his usual, and then tell him how he feels, slip him his number, and leave. He figures it’s good to keep it simple in case he messes up somehow, which will probably happen. 

Of course, he needs all the encouragement he can get, so he texts both Donghyuck and Jisung about his plan. They of course, like good friends, send him multiple heart emojis and uplifting words that make Jeno feel all the more confident. Jisung even said he ran the statistics and there’s only a 13% chance that Jaemin will say no. So the odds are pretty good for him right now. Of course, Jisung is a dance major, not a statistics major, so it’s likely that he’s bullshitting just to make Jeno have more faith in himself, but it’s appreciated nonetheless.

It’s D-Day. Jeno showers, brushes his teeth, gives himself a surprisingly inspirational pep talk in the mirror and puts on his favourite hoodie (baby blue with a cartoon cat walking along the hem). He’s ready.

It’s cloudy, so Jeno manages to get inside before the rain inevitably sets in. Seems a couple of other people had the same idea, because the place is packed. Jeno’s chest feels tight from where he’s waiting in line, just slightly shaking. Is it cold in here? It’s suddenly really, really cold.

He breathes in slowly, in from the nose, out through the mouth, and considers it a small victory when the knot in his chest loosens, just slightly. He can do this. He can totally do this. Everything will be fine.

Two girls pass by him, giggling about something. Jeno manages to catch the tail end of their conversation, and it makes his blood run cold.

“Jaemin’s such a flirt. He said I looked pretty today.” One says.

“Yeah, he’s like that with everyone, isn’t he?” The other replies. 

Oh.

_ You’re always pretty, Jeno. _

So he was wrong, again. Of course, who was he kidding? No one has ever liked him like that. Not anyone he was interested in, anyways.

Jeno’s face falls, the tightness in his chest pulled so taut that he can barely breathe. He really, really doesn’t want to cry right now, especially in a room full of people. When the first tremor quakes through him, he starts running for the exit. 

He doesn’t start crying until he’s some ways away from the shop, not even on the right path home. When the first tear falls, the sky joins him in pity.

**Hyuckie: **jenojen! how did it go? 

**Jen: **i dont wanna talk about it donghyuck

**Hyuckie: **what?

**Hyuckie: **did that asshole really reject you?

**Hyuckie: **jen?

**Hyuckie: **jeno answer me

**Hyuckie: ** i know youre looking at this  
  


There’s a second of chaos when Donghyuck enters BubbleTease. Cups are dropped, conversations are cut off, people are jolted as Donghyuck booms:

“_ Where the fuck is Jaemin? _”

Hands immediately point to said man, who’s just looking at Donghyuck with wide eyes. “Um, can I help you?” He flashes his signature smile, but he thinks it just made things worse, from how Donghyuck’s eye starts twitching

In a flash, Jaemin’s shirt is being clutched into Donghyuck’s hands, the latter getting very into his personal space.

“You have got some nerve.” He hisses, blood boiling more when Jaemin looks at him with a confused expression.

“What?” Donghyuck tightens his grip on Jaemin’s shirt, and Jaemin’s half sure it’s going to rip judging by how weirdly sharp Donghyuck’s nails are.

“Don’t play dumb with me! You think you can just flirt with him literally every time you make eye contact and lead him on like that?” Donghyuck’s getting increasingly louder, the people in the store just looking away and trying to disengage. Jaemin tries not to cringe when some of Donghyuck’s stray spit flies towards his face in his fury. Ew.

“Donghyuck, I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.” He says, very slowly so that Donghyuck can understand.

“Oh, sure. So you’re telling me you didn’t reject Jeno when he came here a few days ago?” Okay, Jaemin’s _ definitely _confused now.

“No? I literally haven’t seen him in weeks. What happened, is he okay?” Donghyuck blinks. Once. Twice. Thrice before he processes everything. His grip starts to weaken and Jaemin sighs in relief when his shirt stops digging into the back of his neck.

“You—but—he—Jeno’s shut me out. He’s not responding to any of my texts or calls since he came over here to confess to you.” 

Jaemin has the beginnings of a smile starting to grow on his face. “He was going to confess to me?”

“Yeah, did he not—oh shit, he didn’t, did he?” Donghyuck scratches the back of his head. Jaemin shakes his head, further confirming his theory. “He seemed so sure of himself though. Me and Jisung made sure to send him a lot of encouragement but—but he didn’t do it. And now he’s locked himself in his dorm and won’t let me talk to him.”

Jaemin purses his lips in thought, before a lightbulb goes off. “Chenle! I’m going to need a large milk tea with tapioca! And I’m taking my break!” Said boy scrambles for ingredients as Jaemin takes off his work apron and jumps over the counter. 

“Where are you going?” Donghyuck asks, Jaemin nearly out the door, bubble tea in hand. He stops, looks back at him. 

“Making things right.”

  
  


Someone’s knocking. Not that Jeno cares enough to get out of his nest of blankets to see, because it’s probably Donghyuck again. He’s shrouded in darkness, wallowing, and he’s perfectly happy with it, thank you.

The knocking doesn’t stop, though, and it’s really annoying when Jeno’s trying to cry himself to sleep. Eventually he gets frustrated enough to disentangle himself from his blanket and power walk towards the door.

“Donghyuck, I really don’t want to talk right—” Jaemin’s standing outside the door, a cup of bubble tea in hand, looking fairly out of breath and red in the face. Horrified, Jeno tries closing the door, but Jaemin stops him.

“Please don’t...huff...close the door on me...phew...Jesus, remind me never to sprint 1k on pure adrenaline ever again...hah.” Feeling a little pity, Jeno lets him catch his breath, even if he does want to go back to his blankets and never step outside his dorm again.

“If you’re here to make fun of me, don’t count on it. I’ve entertained you enough.” Jeno moves to close the door again, but Jaemin pushes against it, slamming it against the wall.

“Jeno, you were never a joke to me.” He says, staring at Jeno with so much sincerity that he can’t avert his eyes, not this time.

“I know you think that I’m just another asshole who flirts with everyone, and you’re right, I am, but I have never, _ ever _ thought of you as just everyone.” There’s a distinct waver in his voice that’s so different from the Jaemin Jeno’s used to, like he’s actually nervous. 

He leans in closer, and Jeno has that feeling again. That nothing else matters, just their eyes on each other.

“I’ve literally had a crush on you since the first time you walked in. You’re so beautiful and adorable and magnetic and you don’t even know it. And—and I know this probably makes no sense and it’s really cheesy but—” Jaemin takes a deep breath, and he gently holds out the bubble tea for Jeno to take. 

“Would you be the milk tea to my tapioca and go on a date with me?” There’s a second of tense silence as Jaemin’s afraid that he’s gonna get a door slammed in his face, but then suddenly Jeno laughs, his smile bright and beautiful and his eyes disappearing into crescent-like slits, and suddenly he can breathe again.

“T-that was the worst joke I’ve ever heard.” Jeno says through his giggles. “But yeah. Yeah, okay.” He takes the bubble tea, feeling the happiest he’s been all week. Still, he can’t help but notice something wrong.

“Um, where’s the straw?” He asks, and Jaemin blinks.

.

.

.

“Ah, shit!”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! This story is inspired and dedicated to a friend (you know who you are) who actually had something a bit similar (like 10% lol) to this happen to her. And guess what, I have a twt and a cc now!
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/yeah_uh_no)
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/yeah_uh_no)
> 
> come talk to me about stuff <3


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